Our Neighborhood Association

Hello Neighbor! Whether you are new to College Hill in Easton, PA,  or have lived here for years, we want to invite you to become a member of The College Hill Neighborhood Association (CHNA).  We are your neighbors, local business owners, and, hopefully, soon your friends, looking for ways to improve and maintain our lovely and historic neighborhood.  As part of CHNA, you’ll find out what’s going on in and around College Hill, but you’ll also have the opportunity to help shape projects, start traditions, and make a difference in our neighborhood.

Our Website is the hub of our activities.  Here you'll find our meeting schedules, profiles of some of our officials and committee heads, schedule of activities, and so much more.

We look forward to meeting you. Our group offers a hearty “welcome” to you and your family. Please join us at our next CHNA meeting!

Congressional Candidates Forum
(Easton, PA) –The three candidates vying for the right to represent Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District will share the stage in a Candidates’ Night forum September 13 at 7 p.m. in Oechsle Hall, room 224, at Lafayette College.

John Callahan (Democrat), Charlie Dent (Republican), and Jake Towne (Independent) are running for the seat currently held by Dent. The 15th District includes all of Northampton, most of Lehigh, and parts of Montgomery and Berks counties. The forum is hosted by the College Hill Neighborhood Association of Easton and the League of Women Voters of Northampton County and is open to the public. Parking is available in the visitor parking deck adjacent to Oechsle Hall (behind Markle Hall).

The format for the forum will include opening statements by each of the candidates, followed by questions from the audience, submitted in writing. The forum moderator will be Dr. Phyllis Finger, an experienced political forum moderator and Gifted Support Specialist/Enrichment Teacher with the Easton Area School District. Light refreshments will be available following the program.   

“We are pleased that all of the candidates have agreed to come together to make clear their positions on the major issues facing our region, our state and our nation,” said Hubert Etchison, president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association. “This is the first time all of the candidates will have appeared together at a public forum,” he added.

-Joan Dean, president of the League of Women Voters of Northampton County, stated, “The League is excited about the opportunity to partner with CHNA for this forum, which is among the most closely watched contests in the mid-term elections.” Phyllis Johnson, CHNA program coordinator, said, “The forum will help the district’s citizens decide which candidate will get their votes in this hotly contested Congressional race.”

Candidate John Callahan (D) has served as mayor of Bethlehem since 2003. He
first entered public service in 1998, when he became the youngest person to be elected to Bethlehem City Council. He is president of the Pennsylvania League of Cities and
Municipalities and is a member of the National League of Cities’ policy committee on energy, environment and natural resources. A graduate of Moravian College, he serves on numerous local boards.

Incumbent Charlie Dent (R) is in his third term in Congress representing the state’s 15th District. He serves on three House committees: Homeland Security, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics). He was an aide to former Rep. Don Ritter and served eight years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and six years in the State Senate. He is a graduate of Penn State University and earned a master’s in public administration at Lehigh University.

Jake Towne (I), a chemical engineer who has worked in the semiconductor industry the past seven years, is a graduate of Lehigh University. In his position with Ablestik Laboratories, he led the start-up and commissioning of two manufacturing units in Shanghai, China. He also has taught English in tribal villages along the Chinese-Burmese border. In March 2009, he returned to Nazareth, PA, his hometown, to pursue this campaign.

The College Hill Neighborhood Association of Easton (www.eastonchna.org) strives to improve the quality of life in the community by sponsoring informational, socially-conscious, and cultural and recreational programs. The League of Women Voters, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, promotes political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government.

Crossing Guards Needed
(Easton, PA) – The Easton Area School District and the Easton Police Department are seeking responsible adult members of the community to serve in paid positions as crossing guards for key street intersections around the FA March School on College Hill in Easton. The City of Easton and the College Hill Neighborhood Association (CHNA) are also partners in the crossing guard hiring program.

“We are pleased to be a part of this effort to help make the streets safer when students arrive and depart March School,” said Hubert Etchison Jr., president of  CHNA, which has produced a brochure on the hiring program. “March School is a busy hub of activity on College Hill, and we need to insure that the surrounding streets are as safe as possible for both students and parents.”

Successful candidates will attend a three-hour training session by the Easton Police Department, followed by on-the-job training during a two-week trial period, June 1-14. Crossing guards will be paid $21.75 a day, and must be available on school days from 8:30-9:00 a.m. and 3:15-3:45 p.m. Guards will receive safety vests and hand-held signs to stop traffic.

To apply for the crossing guard positions or for more information, contact Gladys Rodenbough at the Easton Police Department, 610-250-6643 or grodenbough@easton-pa.gov.

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